Head lamp for vehicles



Jan. 13, 1931. H. c. MEAD 1,788,728

HEAD LAMP FOR VEHICLES Filed March 12, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 13, 1931. H. c. MEAD 1 1,788,728

HEAD LAMP FOR VEHICLES Filed March 12, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 gnvewkn 144w /W WM;

Jan. 13, 19311. H, M AD 1,788,728

nBAD LAMP FOR VEHICLES Filed March 12, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gnue lfoz 3 Jan. 13, 1931. H. c. MEAD HEAD LAMP FOR VEHICLES Filed March 12, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 gwmrntoz attoznzq 3 Jan. 13, 1931.

H. MEAD HEAD LAMP FOR VEHICLES Filed March 12, 1928 4 )6, L 8 I R 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jan.

' j HOWARD 0. arine]? CLEVELAND; .0 10.- essreivon I The type of headlamp in general use today- QEDAYTON, 01110, A coBPoRATIon OEDELAWARE nEAnLA vIr FOR: vnnromis lApplication filed March 12,

: This "invention relates generally to head lamps forautomotive vehicles; and particu larly to mechanism for resiliently securing the'ilens within the door or rim of the lamp in such a manner as-.tolallow for manufacturing variations in thecontiguous parts and f at thesame timeto prevent warpage of the door or rim.

is the butt joint or-flush' type andin which the rear edge or the door or a shoulder provided on the lamp body, the

diameters of theqdoor and lamp body at the lfjOlIil'i being substantially the same. Inthis to the body by meansof a'hook' jecting from the top of the door and engaging d s1 es.fy'

type of construction the dooror rimis held inja slot in'th'e top of thebody, the bottom construction, 1 obgectionable One method in use today employs thefloating reflector idea with three springs between of thexdoor'beingheldzbymean-s ofascrew: threaded into a lug onjthe'lampbody- In to provide an' in theform of an annular cork Washerplaced bet'Weenthe reflector and lens. Inhead lamps the cork seal, being pliable to a certain degree, absorbs or takes up the manufacturing variag tions in theflens, the'door and lampbodya 130.

' sure on the ,cork is of such magnitude that the doordistorts or lbulges the sides and When these variations areadditive, the pres-.

when such distortion appears with abutt joint from the viewpoint of appearance. It thereforebecomes necessary to provide an additional resilient means .of some sort which is sufficiently flexible to absorb or allowforthese manufacturing variations lwithout'the resulting door warpage.

the flange of the body and-the reflector. It, is

necessary in this that the bulb willnot be moved out of focus when'the door is removed.. This is an expen- 'sive'construction. 'In'some cases where'the'-- lens is warped, the reflector. will tilt tofcon .iform to the angle of lens w'arpage, which rim seats against n this warpage is noticeable and is a detail fragmentary plan'view with the type of construction to 'fas- J tenthe focusing mechanism to the reflector so p fragmentary views partly insection and-part j 1528. Serial 260,915." i

turn, will move thelb'ulb above, below, or to the side of the focus; that ,the reflector being supported by three springs; will assume tlie angle of the lens, vbut I V r rear? of the lainpbody cannot follow' the theffocus-screw being-fitted ina holein the This is due tov the fact,

TO IJELco ammonium-Ion, p1

angular" displacement of the reflector with the result th-attheentire focusing mechanism isstrainedfand the filament moved out of its proper position This. condition badly dis-' torts the beam of light. i 1 The ain'object ofythisinvention isto'obviate the diflic ulties hereinbefore mentioned and to -compensateifor,the manufacturing variations While floating the lens in the door,

thereby effectively sealing. the reflector and preventing Anotherobject of-the-invention isjto pro vide a mechanism of the character set forth the door fromywarpingat thei 707? whichis simple infconstruction and which Y Y is well adapted for quantity production at comparatively low cost.

Further and ;more limitedobjects of the ceeds and-by reference to the accompany ng invention will appear asthe description p'rodrawings in Which'Fig. iis a View of affront, elevationwitli parts broken awayillustrating the manner of attaching'the lens to thei 1 door or rim; Fig. 2 is a vieW partly in side I elevation and 'p'artly in vertical section 'on the line 2-'2,of F ig. 1.; Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view illustrating one of the spring members for securing the lens in place; Fig. 4

p arts broken tomoreclearly disclose the manner'of attaching the spring members to the door i'imiand lens;'Figs. 5, G and 7 are detail I artly in section and partly in front'elevation disclosing a second modi lied forinof springrmember for securing the lens within the door rim Fig. 12 is: adetail perspective view ofithe' spring member dis' closed in Figs. 9, and 11'; Fig. 13 is a View in rear elevation of a modified form of rim to more clearly illustrate the position of the.

' spring member; and Figs. 16, i7 and 18 are detail views of thespring member used with l v y the 101111 oi rim shown in F igs. 18, 14; and lo Referring now to the drawlngsii lgs. 1 to inclusive'the reference character 1' designates an automobile head lamp or the conventional design and or the butt joint type. The lamp is shaped so as to provide an annular shoulder '2 about the periphery thereof over which.

fits the door or rim 3. The rim 3 is provided witha lining a which is securely held in place by turning therea'r edge of the doorover the outer edge of the lining, as shown most clearly in Fig..2. j I D Secured to the top or" the door s a catch or tang 5'which engages in a. slot provided n the shoulder-p2,. The'bottom of the lamp is pro.- vided with the conventional means of fastenfing the door to the body which consists of a screwifi threaded into a lug secured to the lamp body and entending through an 'ape r ture member 8 secured to the door. For se curing the lens-within the'door or;r m I pro-v vide three spring members 9 wh ch are placed, one at the top of the rim and the other twoflat substantially below the hor1- against the zontal center line or the lamp. One form of spring member is shown in detail in Fig. 3,

Each spring member t) has an arch-shaped portion 10'and a pair ofpro ect1ons 11 and 12 which extend upwardly therefrom and are adapted to project through slots formed in the door lining 4. -Each spring is also provided with an inwardly bent portion 13 whichis adapted to engage in a depression 14- formed in the lens 15, as shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. The projections 13 engaging in the depressions 14 prevent rotation of the lens with respectto the door or rim. The arched portion 10 extends a slight distance beyond each side of the depressions and bears frontside of the lens. The proor cars 11 and 12 are, bent atright rearwardly to prevent: the spring member from falling out of the door or rim when the same is removed. The center portion 10 of the springs provides a seat for the lens and from this point the springs are bent outwardly at a gently sloping angle. The ends of the spring rest on the radial flange 4a of the door lining; All spring action takes place between the ends of the spring and'the lens seatas mostly clearly shown in Fig. 4.

Secured within the bodyofthe lamp isthe jections clearly in Fig. 2.

usual reflector 16 which projects outwardly beyond the plane of the lamp body and is provided with an annular shoulder 17 around which is secured an annular washer or gasket 18. When the door assembly is fastened to the body,it is obvious that the springs will exert a pressure on the lens rearwardly, effectively sealing the reflector, the lens bearing against the washer 18, as shown most The reflectoris rigidly secured to the body by anysuitable means well known to those skilled in the art. The bulb is carried by'the reflector and justed independent of the reflector. Any irregularities or warping of the lens willbe absorbed by the springs. Variationsiri the manufacture in the horizontal directionare compensated for by the springs 9, and due to these springs, the rear edge of the'door will fit t1ghtly against-the shoulder 2 of the body around thelentire outside of the lamp. The

springs hold the lens within the door or rim and prevent rotation of the lens with respect thereto and at the same time permit a slight back and forth movement of the lens within the door in a-horizontal direction.

In Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 I have-"disclosed a modified form of spring member 20. The

spring member 20-is of the wire type as dis-' tinguished-from the fiat type of spring shown in Figs. 1 to4 inclusive; With the use of these spring members,

same as described above except that the spring members 20 dliier in design and construction.

'Eachspring member; 20. is provided with a centrally disposed U-shaped horizontally extending The ends of the spring portion 21 and member 20 are bent rearwardly, as shown at 24 and 25 in Fig. 8.

The ends'24 and 25 project through slotsprovided in the lining 4 as shown most clearly in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The U-shaped'portio'n 21 engages in a depression 21 in the periphery of the lens as shown in" Figs. *1" and 8 and rim. These impressions in the lens also serve to prevent the springs from interfering with the cork gasket thereby preventing destruction of the seal for the reflector. The U-shaped portions of the springs project through openings in the door lining as shown inFigs. 6 and 7' and serve to anchor the lens againstrotation with respect to the rim. The springs hold the door assembly intact when removing the door, and should the lens be broken, the springs will not fall out due to their engagementwith the door lining. The

principle and function of this form'of spring adapted to be adportions 22 and 23.

the principle of float- 111g aims in the headlight door or rim is the v serves to secure the lens, within the dooror I of spring member shown Fig s. 1m 4; inclusive.

In Figs. 9 m 12 inclusive there is discloseda thirdiorm of spring member which is slightly difierent from the other two forms described but; operates on the same principle "and accomplishes, the same result. This projection 28 engages withthe rear 'side of thelens and the ears 27 engage with the front sideof the lens 15, as shownmostjclear ly in Fig.11. The. spring" member26 is arranged within an aperture inthe door lining 4 as'shown'in Fig. 11 and the'ears 29 and 3d serve to fasten. the same to the .door lining i. This spring member serves the same purpose I :as the spring members previously described.

Referring now to Figs. 13 to 18 inclusive,

there is disclosed ahead lamp the frontjof which is closed'by a different type of rim or door, which is preferably made in'one piece and has no-l n ng. In this form of the: inventlon the lamp COIDPIISGS the usual casing 1 of the butt joint type having the annular shoulder 2 and within which is secured the usual reflector. 16 having an annu-j lar projectingshoulder"17 around; which fits the usualannularfcork gasket 18. Thus far, this type'of head lamp isidentical with the head lamp previously described. Instead of the usual rim or door 3 I employ. a. rim'31 which is provided with a tang 'orproje ction 32 which projects through an opening pro vided in the shoulder 2 adjacent the top thereof. Secured within the rim 3liadjacent the bottom thereof is a lug or clip 33, which is preferably secured to the rim by means of a rivet 34L andwhich is provided with a 7 portion 35 which extends through the rim as I shown most clearly in 1 1. Secured-within the lamp casing 1 is an 'apertured member 36 adapted .to receive a screw 37 for securing the door 1n place. The lugor clip 33 1s provided at itsinner end with an upstanding portion 38 which engages with a recess in the lens and serves to prevent rotation of 5 the lens with respect to the rim. 31.- Arranged within the rim 31 is a lens 39. For

securing the lens 39 within the rim 31 I provide three spring members 40 which are preferablymade of wire and are of the shape shown most clearly in Figs. 15 to 18 inclusive. These spring members 40 are placed-one. at thetop of the rim and the other two at substantially degrees below the horizontalcenter of the lamp as shown most clearly inFig.13. V o

1 7 Ea spring member .140 comprises a Cell-E trally;;disposed U shaped portion 41, oppositely disposed-forwardly extending portions;

42, 4:3, andrearwardlyextending angularly 1 bentfportions 14,545. :Thejportions 4.4,- terminate inangularlybent portions. 46 and r I 17 respectivelyywhich engage/behind the; curved rear edge; of the ,rimj. The lens .39. is provided with spaced cutaway portions: or

impressionsj48 adapted to receiveJtheU- shaped portionsdliof the spring members. v therein as shown inFig. 15. Thesev impressed portions in the lenspas'sist in preventing the lensfrombeing turned'with respect to the rinr and'also prevent the u-s haped portion of the spring from; interfering with the seal) between ithelensand the'oork gasket 18 The spring nembers v engage, behind. the curved inner andouter edges. of the rim asshown l-Il, Fig. Y15 and securely 'holdthe lens within.)

the rim. .QThe spring membersxwill not .fall

' out of lthe "rim even should the ,lens sbecoine. :The lens. is'alsoprovided at its. lower side with a slot 49 into'which'projects the portiong38' on. thelug 33, thereby pre-f venting relative rotation of the=lens witl1;- re--- spect-toztherim. The U,-shap ed portions off the spring"members engage in the impres sions aslshown most clearly in Figs. 1 1. andv 15, and project outwardly into the rim. jThis v roam of spring; member performs' the same; functionias the spring members hereinbefo're described andis particularly adapted for use i with havingano. lining.

- lt-will'now be clear, that a mechanlsm 'itor resiliently mountmg the In-h'ave provided lenswithinthe door or rirnlofv ahead lamp.- and which will accomplish the objects of the" inventionas hereinbefo re stated. It willalso be seen that by floating the lens within the] door or run I provide a constructionwhich lea" willallow for manufacturing variations oi.

the contiguous parts and in which the rela-, tive-position of the light bulb and reflectorwill not be disturbed when the rim or door .is

Various other formsofqspring mel'nbers and rims are contemplated v and within the.

scope-of this invention and it should jbeunderstood that. the several forms of spring members are shown merely as illustrative and are not to be construed in a limitingsense; andl w sh my'inventio'n to be limited only inaccordance with the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 1. In a headlamp of the butt joint type,

the combination of'a lamp body, a reflector I arranged within said lamp bodyand having a gasket extending about the periphery thereof, a rim secured over the front of said xlamp b.ody, -said rim having a lining,.ajlens arranged within said rim and a plurality of T springmembers disposed within said rim,

each spring having a pair of projections thereon extending through said lining and being provided with a portion shaped to engage said lens and to hold the lens in place,

i i 5 said lens bearing against said gasket when the rim is secured in place, said springs serving to compensate for manufacturing irregularities in the contiguous parts and preventing Warpage of said rim. 7 p

w 2. The combination of a lamp housing,- a lens ring fitting and making a joint with the housing, means for locking the ring in closing position on the housing, a reflector in the housing seating against the forward edge thereof, a lens in the ring, a sealing washer interposed between the lens and reflector and spring means mounted in and carried by the lens ring and interposed, between the ring and the lens and adapted to normally hold the lens and ring in axially separatedrelation, and to be stressed upon application of the lens ring to the housing to' yieldingly hol/il the lens in sealing engagement with the washer and reflector.

3. In a lamp, the combination of a lens ring, an annular liner mounted in the ring, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced spring clips detachably secured to the liner a and having resilient portions engaging the 31 lens and tending to yieldingly hold the lens 7 and ring separated in an axial direction, said lens having afnotch in its periphery,"and

one of said clips being provided with an indexing portion adapted to enter the notch 35 to prevent rotation of the lens.

4:. The combination of a lamp ;-housing having a reduced portion at its forward end, a lens ring fitting the reduced portion and V forming a slip joint with the housing, means if! for fastening the lens ring to the housing, a

' reflector in the housing, a lens in the lens" ring, an annular sealing gasket between the. reflector and lens, an annular liner secured in the ring, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced spring clips secured to the liner and having portions for holding the lens in the ring, said clips being flexedupon' application of the ring to the housing to yieldingly hold the lens against the'gasket and re'- flector to seal the lamp.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

' HOWARD C. MEAD. 

